Third Anniversary of Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Japan marks the third anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed 15,884 people and left more than 2,600 unaccounted for in vast areas of its northern coast

March 11, 2014 2:02 PM

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

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A man offers prayers in front of the main entrance of Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 108 students went missing after the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. less

A man offers prayers in front of the main entrance of Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 108 students went missing after the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, ... more

Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi, Associated Press

A man offers prayers in front of the main entrance of Okawa... Photo-6005031.81716 - GreenwichTime

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Fishing boats sit grounded on land three years after the disaster in Namie, near the striken TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture on March 10, 2014, one day before the third anniversary of March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake in 2011 sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. less

Fishing boats sit grounded on land three years after the disaster in Namie, near the striken TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture on March 10, 2014, one day before the third ... more

Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno, AFP/Getty Images

Fishing boats sit grounded on land three years after the disaster... Photo-6000974.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A woman from Tokyo visits the heavily damaged Disaster Control Center building where scores of people were killed following the 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Japan on Tuesday marks the third anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed 15,884 people and left more than 2,600 unaccounted for in vast areas of its northern coast. less

A woman from Tokyo visits the heavily damaged Disaster Control Center building where scores of people were killed following the 2011 tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, ... more

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami near a coast damaged by the disaster in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Today marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami near a coast damaged by the disaster in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Today marks three ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan... Photo-6005084.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A tsunami survivor searches for the remains of missing people at Namie, near the striken TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2014 on the third anniversary day of massive earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake in 2011 sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. less

A tsunami survivor searches for the remains of missing people at Namie, near the striken TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture on March 11, 2014 on the third anniversary day of ... more

Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno, AFP/Getty Images

A tsunami survivor searches for the remains of missing people at... Photo-6005030.81716 - GreenwichTime

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Telephone poles and damaged houses stand along a road in an area damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

Telephone poles and damaged houses stand along a road in an area damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

Telephone poles and damaged houses stand along a road in an area... Photo-6005032.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A security officer guards a gate to a restricted area in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

A security officer guards a gate to a restricted area in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

A security officer guards a gate to a restricted area in Namie,... Photo-6005033.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A fishing vessel swept ashore by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake sits abandoned on a breakwater in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

A fishing vessel swept ashore by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake sits abandoned on a breakwater in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

A fishing vessel swept ashore by the tsunami following the March... Photo-6005034.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A building damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake stands in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

A building damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake stands in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

A building damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011... Photo-6005036.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A young man looks through photographs, which were repaired after being washed away by the earthquake and tsunami at a gymnasium March 10, 2014 in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. On March 11 Japan commemorates the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 18,000 lives, and subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. less

A young man looks through photographs, which were repaired after being washed away by the earthquake and tsunami at a gymnasium March 10, 2014 in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. On March 11 Japan commemorates ... more

Photo: Yuriko Nakao, Getty Images

A young man looks through photographs, which were repaired after... Photo-6003071.81716 - GreenwichTime

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Telephone poles and crossing signs stand along a road in an area damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

Telephone poles and crossing signs stand along a road in an area damaged by the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Monday, March 10, 2014. March 11 marks three ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

Telephone poles and crossing signs stand along a road in an area... Photo-6005050.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A man sits in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Japan marked the third anniversary on Tuesday of a devastating disasters that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing. less

A man sits in front of what is left of a disaster control center in an area devastated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. ... more

Photo: Shizuo Kambayashi, Associated Press

A man sits in front of what is left of a disaster control center in... Photo-6005063.81716 - GreenwichTime

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Balloons in the shape of doves are released into the air during a memorial service for tsunami victims at the former Yuriage junior high school in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture on March 11, 2014 on the third anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northern Japan. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake in 2011 sent a huge wall of water into the coast of the Tohoku region, splintering whole communities, ruining swathes of prime farmland and killing nearly 19,000 people. less

Balloons in the shape of doves are released into the air during a memorial service for tsunami victims at the former Yuriage junior high school in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture on March 11, 2014 on the third ... more

Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP/Getty Images

Balloons in the shape of doves are released into the air during a... Photo-6005064.81716 - GreenwichTime

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A woman touches a memorial engraved with the names of the victims at Okawa Elementary School on the three year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2014 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. On March 11 Japan commemorates the third anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 18,000 lives, and subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. less

A woman touches a memorial engraved with the names of the victims at Okawa Elementary School on the three year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2014 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, ... more

Photo: Yuriko Nakao, Getty Images

A woman touches a memorial engraved with the names of the victims... Photo-6005077.81716 - GreenwichTime

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This picture taken on March 3, 2014 shows elderly women making sandals from used T-shirts in a small room of a temporary housing complex in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Since Japan's quake-tsunami disaster tens of thousands of refugees are still struggling to cope as the country gets set to mark the third anniversary of the disaster on March 11. The government has pledged billions of dollars in reconstruction funds but people are still struggling to make do in cramped temporary housing. less

This picture taken on March 3, 2014 shows elderly women making sandals from used T-shirts in a small room of a temporary housing complex in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Since Japan's quake-tsunami disaster ... more

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, bows to Emperor Akihito, second right, and Empress Michiko in front of the altar for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami at the national memorial service in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Japan marked the third anniversary of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing, turned coastal communities into wasteland and triggered a nuclear crisis. less

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, bows to Emperor Akihito, second right, and Empress Michiko in front of the altar for the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami at the national memorial ... more

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in an area damaged by the disaster in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Today marks three years since Japan's deadliest earthquake in 2011, a magnitude-9 temblor that triggered a tsunami in northeastern Japan, leaving about 19,000 people dead or missing and hundreds of thousands homeless as it wiped out entire towns. less

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in an area damaged by the disaster in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Today marks three years ... more

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota, Bloomberg

A woman prays on the third anniversary of the Great East Japan... Photo-6005081.81716 - GreenwichTime